We're back in Pasco where I first started. It's a good feeling.
Albert Vasquez, Vice President of Operations for ColorTyme franchisee Mark Childers

Photo/ColorTyme

left to right – Adan Saenz, Alma Cruz, Armondo Tovar. Standing left to right – Erick Davis and Albert Vasquez.

Pasco, Washington residents welcomed ColorTyme back to the community. After weeks of preparation, Franchise Owner Mark Childers and his Vice President of Operations, Albert Vasquez, worked together to open a new store on West Court St. The long-anticipated location (a former auto parts store) has been completely remodeled and modified to adequately fit ColorTyme's showroom floor needs.

See video interview with Mark Childers, ColorTyme franchisee.

"We're across the street, maybe one block down the road, from our old location," said Vasquez. "It's on a busy street and we're excited about being open for business."

Supervising the opening of the store, Vasquez has worked with Childers for about 15 years. Recently, he was promoted to vice president of operations for Childers' five ColorTyme stores in Washington and Alaska.

"I started back in 1994 with the original ColorTyme store in Pasco," said Vasquez. "When Rent-A-Center took over that store, I went to Sunnyside, Wash., with Mark to run a ColorTyme store there. Now, we're back in Pasco where I first started. It's a good feeling."

Childers and Vasquez hired Erick Davis, a 12-year rent-to-own veteran in the Pasco area, to manage the store. To encourage the community's involvement, Davis and his crew plan to host a cookout every weekend in the store's large parking lot.

"The weekly cookout is something the Pasco team wants to do for not only the customers but for everybody interested in stopping by," explained Childers. "In addition, the team took it upon themselves to open the store on Sundays. The Pasco community is very active on Sunday and I think it will be great for business."

Childers and Vasquez also plan to help the community by joining the Pasco Chamber of Commerce and support several of the city's charities.

"Being back in the Pasco community is such a good thing," said Vasquez. "We've had customers stopping by – since we've been working on the store – asking when we plan to open. These are customers who had been with us before, when we were in Pasco. They're loyal supporters of ColorTyme and we're proud to have them welcome us back."

Childers and Vasquez plan to host the store's official grand opening Oct. 1-3, which will include a ribbon cutting, giveaways and a charitable donation to the local Boys and Girls Club.

"This community is so incredible," explained Childers. "Since we're opening up with essentially the same ColorTyme team from four years ago, there was a lot of emotion from the customers and the team. As our previous customers have stopped by, it's felt like a family reunion. I've never witnessed a new store opening like this."

About ColorTyme
ColorTyme, Inc., founded in 1979, is America's oldest franchisor of independently owned-and-operated rent-to-own stores. The company has added 117 new stores and 51 new franchisees in the last five years. Today, ColorTyme franchisees operate 200 rent-to-own stores in 33 states, and the company's custom-wheels-and-tires franchise brand, RimTyme, operates 25 stores in 12 states. ColorTyme is headquartered in Plano, Texas, and is an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of the largest RTO company in the world, Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ: RCII).